White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

A common winter bird of eastern woodlots, shuffling about on the ground in loose flocks, often coming to bird feeders that are placed close enough to the shelter of thickets. It is also widespread in the West in winter, but in much smaller numbers. In summer, White-throated Sparrows sing their clear whistles in northern forests. Adults may have head stripes of either white or tan, and scientists have found some odd differences in behavior between these two color morphs.

Conservation status

Widespread and common. Surveys suggest slight declines in total numbers during recent decades.

Thickets, brush, undergrowth of conifer and mixed woodlands. Breeds in zone of coniferous and mixed forest, mainly in openings having dense thickets of deciduous shrubs, such as around ponds, clearings, edges, roadsides, second growth. Winters in areas with dense low cover, including forest undergrowth and edges, well-vegetated suburbs and parks.

A common winter bird of eastern woodlots, shuffling about on the ground in loose flocks, often coming to bird feeders that are placed close enough to the shelter of thickets. It is also widespread in the West in winter, but in much smaller numbers. In summer, White-throated Sparrows sing their clear whistles in northern forests. Adults may have head stripes of either white or tan, and scientists have found some odd differences in behavior between these two color morphs.

Photo Gallery

Feeding Behavior

Forages mostly on ground under or close to dense thickets. Often scratches briefly in leaf-litter with both feet. Also forages up in shrubs and low trees, mainly in summer.

Eggs

4-5, sometimes 3-6, rarely 2-7. Pale blue or greenish blue, marked with reddish brown and lavender. Incubation is by female only, about 11-14 days. Young: Both parents feed nestlings. Young usually leave nest 8-9 days after hatching, are tended by parents for at least 2 more weeks. 1-2 broods per year. A few differences between color morphs: White-striped males are usually more aggressive and do more singing than tan-striped males. White-striped females also sing, but tan-striped females usually do not. Pairs involving a tan-striped male and white-striped female usually form more quickly than those of the opposite combination. Tan-striped adults tend to feed their young more often than white-striped adults.

Young

Both parents feed nestlings. Young usually leave nest 8-9 days after hatching, are tended by parents for at least 2 more weeks. 1-2 broods per year. A few differences between color morphs: White-striped males are usually more aggressive and do more singing than tan-striped males. White-striped females also sing, but tan-striped females usually do not. Pairs involving a tan-striped male and white-striped female usually form more quickly than those of the opposite combination. Tan-striped adults tend to feed their young more often than white-striped adults.

Nesting

The two color morphs (with tan-striped and white-striped heads) may be either male or female; adults almost always mate with the opposite color morph. Male sings to defend nesting territory. Nest site usually on ground, well hidden by low shrubs (such as blueberry), grass, or ferns. Sometimes nests above ground in shrubs, brushpiles, or low trees, rarely up to 10' high. Nest (built by female) is open cup made of grass, twigs, weeds, pine needles, lined with fine grass, rootlets, animal hair.

How climate change could affect this bird's range

In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.

White-throated Sparrow

Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”

The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).

The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.

The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.

The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.

You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.

The darker the color, the more favorable the climate conditions are for survival. The outlined areas represent approximate current range for each season. More on reading these maps.

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